Tony Parker sends message at NBA Camp

At times during the spring, Tony Parker barely looked like a top-50 player in the class of 2012.

That certainly changed at the NBPA Top 100 camp last week in Virginia, when Parker went through a hit list of opponents and dominated everyone.

Daniel Ochefu, Shaq Cleare, Cameron Ridley, even Andre Drummond for one half – Parker handled them all, showing off his versatile offensive game and making an impact at both ends of the floor.

“I wanted to show I’m a better basketball player, that I’m one of the top bigs in the class,” Parker said. “I just gotta play hard.”

Parker, a 6-foot-9 big man from Miller Grove (Ga.), has a host of schools on his list, including Florida, Kansas, Texas, Georgia and Georgia Tech. However, three schools are standing out right now: Ohio State, Duke and Memphis.

Parker would have the chance to be the next NBA big out of Ohio State, and could step right in for Jared Sullinger once the future lottery pick leaves Columbus.

“Ohio State has a real good coach and a good style of play,” Parker said. “It’s a great campus, an athletic atmosphere.”

While Parker has said he would choose Ohio State if he was forced to make a decision immediately, Duke is also very much in the hunt.

“It has strong academics and a great coach in Coach K,” he said.

At Memphis, Parker could arrive and immediately be the best back-to-the-basket player in the conference.

“They do a good job of getting their bigs the ball,” he said.

While he does have a top three, Parker said he plans to take his visits in the fall before deciding.